Saheedah Black has always loved being involved with the community. The senior at Richmond Community High School started young by being involved in the Boys & Girls Club of America when she was in the seventh grade. She said being a member drove her to want to be a counselor at The Club in the West End (or Randolph) unit in later years.

“Working in the community and helping all kinds of kids from different backgrounds empowered me to work with my community, prescription ” Saheedah said. “Most of the kids that live in the neighborhood where Boys & Girls Clubs are located are usually low-income families or single parent households. That can put them at risk for crime, erectile dropping out of school, so it provides guidance for them to keep them on track.”

At Richmond Community High School, students are required to complete 150 hours of community service before graduating. Unlike other students, Saheedah has exceeded the amount of hours she needed.

“Once I started doing the community service, I actually surpassed that requirement. I enjoyed it,” she said. “It didn’t seem like work or a requirement. It just seemed like a fun activity where I’m doing something good for the community. I’m also having fun with all kinds of people.”

Saheedah also said she enjoys working with the children and community because she wants to make them aware of the options they have before them. She doesn’t want them limited just because of their background or lack of resources. She wants to be that resource for the underprivileged children.

“There is a lot of youth out there who are unaware about educational or job opportunities,” Saheedah said. “So I think it’s important to inform them, especially low-income, single parent families, and to help guide and reassure them that they can be successful just as anyone else who has more money coming into their household.”

Saheedah says these things because at one point she was one of those children. She said she comes from a low-income, single parent household. Her mother, Ruby Marshall, has been her role model to be successful.

“She’s a large inspiration in my community and involvement. She encourages me to go out and do community service projects,” she said. “She reassured me that community work will empower other families, like me, to do better in school and get the job opportunities so that we can be successful as well.”

Because of her involvement in the community, Saheedah has thought about majoring in political science as she applies to colleges. Though she is not yet sure what she wants to major in, she has stated that her top three choices are the University of Richmond, James Madison University and George Mason University. She said that because she is unsure of her major, each of these schools offer a variety of majors for her to choose from.

Currently, Saheedah is ranked in the top ten percent of her class with a GPA of 4.377. Her ambition to keep succeeding and being a good role model for the kids at the Boys & Girls Club is what drives her to do better. She wants to show them that even though someone comes from an adverse background, they can still succeed.

“I have good study habits. I stay after school as much as I can,” she said. “I’m very driven to do my best on school assignments, I don’t settle for B’s. I try to aim for A-pluses and do the best as possible.”